We work on designs almost every day, and we use different design methods to make the design usable, aesthetically appealing, and likable. But, many times, those well-crafted designs fail to reach a level to become market differentiator or innovative. One of the reasons is the lack of investment in the core of the product “the concept.”

我们几乎每天都在进行设计工作，并且使用不同的设计方法来使设计可用，美观且讨人喜欢。 但是，很多时候，这些精心设计的产品未能达到成为市场差异化产品或创新产品的水平。 原因之一是缺乏对产品“概念”核心的投资。

A concept is the “soul” of your product. A product without a strong concept is like a human without a soul.

概念是产品的“灵魂”。 没有强大概念的产品就像没有灵魂的人。

Dr. Larry Barrow, former professor of Mississippi State University, Design Research Lab, came up with the design process of Zero Dimension (0D) to Fourth Dimension (4D). In his master’s class, he taught the students how to take concepts such as fire, wind, water, flight, etc. and transform them into beautiful architecture. Below is an example of a project where I took the noun “flight,” and using the design process created a building representing the concept flight.

密西西比州立大学设计研究实验室前教授Larry Barrow博士提出了零维(0D)到第四维(4D)的设计过程。 在他的大师班上，他教学生如何运用诸如火，风，水，飞行等概念，并将其转变为美丽的建筑。 下面是一个项目示例，我使用了名词“ flight”，并使用设计过程创建了代表概念飞行的建筑物。

Now, I can see how we can apply the same design method in Product Design as well.

现在，我了解了如何在产品设计中应用相同的设计方法。

Definition of Concept: “A concept is an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances.” — Webster

概念的定义：“概念是从特定实例中概括出来的抽象或通用概念。” —韦伯斯特

So, a concept is not a wireframe or mock, or even a visual representation of something. The concept is an idea that doesn’t have any dimension; in other words, it is zero-dimensional (0D).

因此，概念不是线框或模型，也不是某种事物的视觉表示。 这个概念是一个没有任何维度的想法。 换句话说，它是零维(0D) 。

Once you start thinking about it bit more and add more details by making a line drawing or put it in a simple story, you are essentially adding another dimension to it (1D).

一旦开始考虑它并通过画线图或将其放入简单的故事中添加更多细节，则实际上是在为其添加另一个维度( 1D) 。

Then, when you give it a shape or form by sketching it out, you add yet another dimension, which becomes “2D” design. Next, when you add visual effects, hierarchy, and depth, you get 3D, and finally, when you add animations, interactions, you achieve your 4D design that takes the form or a product.

然后，当通过草绘将其赋予形状或形式时，您将添加另一个尺寸，该尺寸即成为“ 2D”设计。 接下来，当您添加视觉效果，层次结构和深度时，您将获得3D ，最后，当您添加动画，交互时，您将获得采用形式或产品的4D设计 。

As product designers, we spend lots of time in the 2D, 3D, and 4D designs but not much in the 0D and 1D. This is one reason why so many well-crafted designs fail.

作为产品设计师，我们在2D，3D和4D设计中花费大量时间，而在0D和1D中花费的时间并不多。 这就是为什么许多精心设计失败的原因之一。

我们如何产生概念？ (How do we generate concepts?)

Let’s take an example. You have a new project to fix the login authentication of your site because the current method is not working well. So, how do you proceed from here?

让我们举个例子。 您有一个新项目要修复站点的登录身份验证，因为当前方法无法正常工作。 那么，您如何从这里开始？

1. Should you start sketching some ideas to solve it? NO

   您是否应该开始草绘一些想法来解决它？ 没有

2. Do you check how others are authenticating their users? Maybe

   您是否检查其他人如何验证他们的用户？ 也许

3. Talk to users? Most likely

   与用户交谈？ 最有可能的

4. Understand your users, see who is using your product, and try to understand how this will impact them and their experience? YES

   了解您的用户，查看谁在使用您的产品，并尝试了解这将如何影响他们及其体验？ 是

了解您的用户 (Understand your user)

You start by understanding where your product stands today. How are your users using it now? What is their context looks like when they use your product? Do they use it for work? Do they use it for pleasure? Do they use it multiple times a day? Maybe your user base is always on the go or travel internationally, or most of your users are marines, and they access places with deficient connectivity. All of these are essential information for your design. This information will build the foundation for your 0D.

您首先要了解您的产品在当今的地位。 您的用户现在如何使用它？ 他们使用您的产品时的背景是什么样的？ 他们使用它工作吗？ 他们会以娱乐为乐吗？ 他们一天会多次使用它吗？ 也许您的用户群总是在旅途中或出国旅行，或者您的大多数用户是海军陆战队，并且他们访问连接性差的地方。 所有这些对于您的设计都是必不可少的信息。 这些信息将为您的0D奠定基础。

产生0D (Generate 0Ds)

Go over all the significant findings you have and write down your assumptions and hypotheses. Having all the results on hand will help your team stay focused. One way to generate lots of ideas is by using the Crazy 8 concept. To do a crazy 8, ask all your team members to come up with eight ideas and put them with one idea per sticky. Remember, no idea is a bad idea. So, the quantity is more important than the quality at this point. Sometimes one “bad idea” could lead to another great idea. Therefore, once you have all the views on the board, encourage the team members to write down more ideas if they want to build upon other’s concepts.

仔细检查您拥有的所有重要发现，并写下您的假设和假设。 掌握所有结果将帮助您的团队保持专注。 产生大量想法的一种方法是使用Crazy 8概念。 做一个疯狂的8，要求您所有的团队成员提出八个想法，并在每个粘性项中提出一个想法。 请记住，没有一个主意是一个坏主意。 因此，在这一点上，数量比质量更重要。 有时，一个“坏主意”可能导致另一个好主意。 因此，一旦掌握了董事会的所有观点，就可以鼓励团队成员写下更多的想法，如果他们想借鉴他人的想法。

Here are a few Zero 0D we can think about to solve this problem

这里有一些零零维我们可以考虑解决这个问题

1. Let the user write down a phrase. To authenticate, we will ask the user to type the Phrase as a key.
   让用户写下一个短语。 要进行身份验证，我们将要求用户键入短语作为密钥。
2. Let the user select a bunch of words, and when we need to authenticate, they pick the words from a bunch of other non-related words.
   让用户选择一堆单词，然后在我们需要进行身份验证时，他们从一堆其他不相关的单词中挑选单词。
3. Let the user select a few interesting images, and when we need to authenticate, they need to pick their pictures from a bunch of other photos.
   让用户选择一些有趣的图像，当我们需要进行身份验证时，他们需要从一堆其他照片中挑选照片。
4. Use a retina scanner to authenticate a user.
   使用视网膜扫描仪对用户进行身份验证。
5. Use Phrases and photos together in combination to authenticate a user.
   将短语和照片一起使用以验证用户身份。
6. Use passcodes they can save as photos and use them to verify their identity.
   使用他们可以另存为照片的密码，并使用它们来验证其身份。
7. Use 2-factor authentication.
   使用2要素身份验证。
8. Use key logger by using machine learning on how they type.
   通过使用有关机器如何键入的机器学习来使用按键记录器。

将概念缩小到几个 (Narrow down concepts to a few)

Group all the ideas and give the group a name; this will generate themes for you. An excellent next step would be to narrow them down to fewer ideas. To get there, you can use the 2/2 method. In this method, you decide the success metrics; you can say “innovative vs. easy to build” or any other metrics you think is right for your product. Finally, you will get all your great ideas on the top right quadrant.

将所有想法归为一组，并给该组命名； 这将为您生成主题。 一个很好的下一步就是将它们缩小到更少的想法。 要到达那里，可以使用2/2方法。 通过这种方法，您可以确定成功指标； 您可以说“创新与易建”或您认为适合您产品的任何其他指标。 最后，您将在右上象限获得所有出色的创意。

用故事生成一维 (Generate 1D with stories)

Now you have several concepts you and your team have generated. You can switch gear to 1D and add more details to it. Put them in a series of experiences using storyboards to communicate them to the other stakeholders easily and validate them with users.

现在，您和您的团队已经产生了几个概念。 您可以将齿轮切换到1D并为其添加更多详细信息。 使用情节提要将其置于一系列体验中，以轻松地将其传达给其他涉众，并与用户进行验证。

For a quick storyboard, I use the Bikablow technique with simple line drawings that are easy to draw and communicates emotion and concept very effectively. With a storyboard in place, you have your concept that will build the foundation for your product.

对于快速的情节提要，我将Bikablow技术与简单的线条图一起使用，这些线条图易于绘制，并且非常有效地传达了情感和概念。 有了情节提要，您将拥有可以为产品奠定基础的概念。

To summarize, a design concept is not a mock or sketch. It’s the essence of your idea. Your design will evolve throughout development, but when you have a solid concept, your concept will anchor the whole team with a common goal and will set the vision for the product.

总而言之，设计概念不是模拟或草图。 这是您想法的本质。 您的设计将在整个开发过程中不断发展，但是当您拥有扎实的概念时，您的概念将使整个团队拥有一个共同的目标，并为产品设定愿景。